As a publisher and internet marketer I subscribe to a lot of newsletters. I like reading and I like learning, especially from my peers. Periodically I get something that I think is exceptionally profound, something I feel is worth passing on to you. I got one today. It's from Glenn Livingston of How to Double Your Business … I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, and I hope you “get it ... here in Glenn's own words:
“…Does the news, the economy, or anything else in your business have you frightened?
A few miles from our house is a gorgeous farm. Miles and miles of apple orchards. While I was there with Sharon she told me a horrible story. Apparently she was there the day before and was on line behind this man and his wife.
The man was relentlessly chastising his wife for putting too many apples in the shopping bag. She was "irresponsibly spending money", and he just wouldn't let up.
It was humiliating for Sharon to witness ...
I can only imagine what it was like for the woman. In the end, she sheepishly took the apples out of the bag, probably saving $1.52 from the total tab.
$1.52!
Now here's the thing, ... they were APPLES.
NOT five hundred dollar gold-string purses, or even $30 sirloin steaks ... but big,
gorgeous, incredibly nutritious apples ... A high water food filled with macro-nutrients,
vitamins, and fiber.
Brilliant, shiny, healthy, energy bursting, life giving (incredibly inexpensive) APPLES!
But this guy couldn't see that. He didn't realize that the 15 other items in his cart had
10x less nutrition and cost 20x as much. (BTW - a friend of mine who was a VP at a major snack-bar manufacturing company told me their key marketing insight was taking the vitamins
OUT of the bars ... it made them taste better and they could FAKE the perception of nutrition using packaging instead)
But the man on the apple line let his economic fear ... the fear running rampant in the news these days ... he let his fear turn into MEAN.
And that's just a "big bowl of wrong"
Other people let their fear turn into panic, ... Their panic turns to desperation ...
And their desperation turns to impulsive (usually destructive) action.
You know what?
That guy should have put MORE apples in his cart, and kissed his wife for looking out for him.
Now, the person who thinks this story was just about apples is missing the boat.
The question we need to ask ourselves (especially now) is HOW IS FEAR SQUELCHING MY LIFE?
While I'm busy obsessing about the economy, my finances, panicking about what to cut back on ... WHO is trying to feed me life giving, positive feelings/nutrition/advice,
etc?
Now I'm NOT suggesting we all deny what's happening around us and go into a manic or delusional frenzy.
What I AM saying is ...
Who's putting apples in your bag?
Something to think about."
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